I guess all the manufacturers have to do something to make a device stand out from the crowd. Advances in phone technology are increasingly underwhelming. It’s probably past time for some other technology device to replace the smart phone.

Eventually, all product markets mature to the point they’re commoditized, so, yes, manufacturer’s must strive to innovate new ways to stand out from the crowd. I suppose touchless gestures would address complaints from those who don’t like fingerprints on their devices.

I really enjoy my Moto phone, I would hate to see the market become all Apple and Samsung.

I really enjoyed the first two generations of the Moto X but haven’t experienced the later models. The Samsung S7 is, IMHO, remarkably better than those early Motorola phones. I’d like to see Motorola stick around too.

Personally I think since Steve Jobs passing, Apple has become the big imitator. Because their marketing is so good, they have folks thinking they invented these features that Motorola and Samsung have had for years. Then they sell their phones for a whole lot more of what Motorola and Samsung sell for.

The Samsung S7 is, IMHO, remarkably better than those early Motorola phones.

I can believe this, but I’m very slow to switch up OEM’s. I am tempted to try out the S8 but when I was dogfooding the J3 (which I understand isn’t a top-tier phone) I really missed the Moto interface.

I’ve owned a series of the Toyota Prius. I don’t think Toyota and Motorola play well together:
2005: iPod Touch worked perfectly, Defy XT barely worked.
2010: iPhone worked perfectly, each update to the X1 and X2 improved the interface but it was never perfect.
2016: (first one I had with Entune Audio) iPhone has perfect interface. Samsung S7 has good interface, Moto X2 barely functional. Moreover, the 2016 has a charging tray which won’t work with any Motorola phone.

Here is a list of Entune compatible phones. Phones not on this list might enjoy some but not all features.

I’ve been using a (Chinese knockoff) Dex with my S8 since launch. For about a week, while my laptop was being repaired, I used it in place of my laptop. While not perfect, it worked pretty darned well. The interface is quite usable, most apps adjusted pretty well and although the phone got pretty warm, I never felt that it was getting so hot as to be potentially damaging.

If you’ve been waiting to buy Samsung’s Dex Pad – the gadget that turns the Galaxy S9 into a desktop – you’ll have to wait a bit longer. Samsung today announced the DeX Pad goes on sale on May 13 for $99. Pre-order, however, begin today, and those...

Ahh yes, project Hawkeye… Yep. It was an absolute disaster. The chosen idea was, honestly, terrible (a phone controlled by your eyes with a sticky back?-really?). I don’t know if you saw any of my threads or posts back then, but I warned them multiple times that it was going to be a disaster device. In the end, for ZTE’s sake, I am glad it never went into production. They would have lost a ton of money on it. In case you can’t tell, I am still bitter that they chose that device over some of the more promising alternatives .

I agree completely. I was one of the voices in their community telling them the same thing. Hawkeye was one of the least attractive choices they had. This is what happens when you design a product completely through the “wisdom of the crowd”. Back to the old Henry Ford quote: “If I’d asked customers what they wanted, they would have told me ‘A Faster Horse!’.” As Republic continues to develop Relay, I hope it doesn’t fall in to this trap!

Personally I think since Steve Jobs passing, Apple has become the big imitator. Because their marketing is so good, they have folks thinking they invented these features that Motorola and Samsung have had for years. Then they sell their phones for a whole lot more of what Motorola and Samsung sell for.

Apple has always been a big imitator. The difference now is they are even farther behind but still make it sound like they invented the tech and people still believe them.